The present invention relates generally to rear axle suspension for vehicles and more particularly to an anti-roll torsion bar arrangement for a rear axle trailing arm suspension system.
Many anti-roll or swaybar arrangements have been proposed for vehicle rear wheel suspensions having the wheels mounted independently on substantially longitudinal arms pivoted about transverse axis. One such arrangement is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,615,103 issued Oct. 26, 1971, to Dohring et al wherein a stabilizer torsion bar is located inside a pair of coaxial wheel supporting pivot tubes.
The U.S. Pat. No. 4,140,333 issued Feb. 20, 1979 to Thoraval et al; concerns a rear-axle trailing wheel arm suspension system providing semi-axles in the form of extensions attached to each arm and aligned transversely of the vehicle. Left and right torsion bars are provided having their outer ends anchored in housings while their inner ends are fixed in the interior of each semi-axle.
The U.S. Pat. No. 4,491,342 issued Jan. 1, 1985 to Aubry discloses yet another vehicle wheel suspension system incorporating coaxial tube damping and anti-roll means. The Aubry system comprises an assembly of two concentric tubes coaxial to a transverse axis about which wheel support arms oscillate. The tubes are fast with each other near the center of their length while the arms are fast with the ends of the outer tube. The ends of the outer tube may rotate at least in a limited manner abut the transverse axis while the inner tube is connected to the chassis of the vehicle by its two ends.
The U.S. Pat. No. 4,544,180 issued Oct. 1, 1985 to Maru et al discloses a trailing link type beam suspension wherein the axle beam is a hollow tubular member receiving a torsion bar stabilizer. The bar has one end inserted into the axle beam to an intermediate depth thereof and held by a ring-shaped rubber holding member. The other end of the bar is connected to an associated trailing arm through a cylindrical member, arm and a link so that the bar is never swung with respect to the chassis unless the second trailing arm rotates.